Costa Mesa eliminated

Costa Mesa National Little League Majors Division All-Stars

Manager Bill Redding said his team saved its best offensive

performance for last.

But the offense wasn’t quite enough as the All-Stars from Fountain

Valley scored two more runs than Costa Mesa, eliminating the locals

with a 7-5 victory in the District 62 All-Star Tournament Thursday at

Wardlow Park.

Costa Mesa jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Fountain Valley

was able to tie it and move ahead for good, taking advantage of a

couple of errors.

Redding was encouraged by his team’s hitting.

“Our bats finally came alive,” he said. “We started to come back

but couldn’t make it.

Leading the charge for Costa Mesa were Brandon Maurer and Ryan

Redding, who each went 2 for 3, with Maurer knocking in a run.

Adam Seagondollar had two RBIs and Justin Long finished 1 for 3

with an RBI. Brandon Grimmett went 1 for 1.

On the mound, Justin Long struck out three in four innings and

Redding followed with two scoreless relief innings, including two

strikeouts.

Thursday’s game was Costa Mesa National’s third in the tournament.

Costa Mesa lost to Huntington Valley, 3-1, July 9, but earned a

1-0 triumph over Westminster July 6 in its tournament opener.